CHAPTER 16 / PRACTICE TEST 2 687
I’m not sure how it can be that you can be the best per-
son to be in power if you don’t want to be. In this coun-
try, at least, running for president or something like that
takes a lot of effort, and I think you have to be a really
hard worker in order to become president or senator.
An example of somebody who is a hard worker
who got into office is former president Bill Clinton.
Although many people think he had indiscretions in
office, he came from a very poor family where he was
only raised by his mother because his father left the
family when he was young. He worked really hard
and became a Rhodes scholar and was elected as gov-
ernor at a very young age. He knew even when he was
a very young kid that he wanted to become a great
leader like John F. Kennedy.
Clinton was a good leader because he understood
where a lot of people were coming from. He wasn’t
just a rich guy who got into office because he had rich
relatives who got him there. I don’t think you can say
that the best leaders are the ones who don’t want to
be in office. If you didn’t want to be in office, then you
shouldn’t run.President of the United States. Washington saw that
his country needed him and answered the call.
Similarly, Mahatma Gandhi did not seek personal
power, but only justice for his people. His humility
and selflessness are what made him one of the great
leaders of the twentieth century, and a model for the
cause of nonviolent activism.
It is unfortunate that today only millionaires with
big political connections seem to have any chance at
being elected to national office. Maybe they have a
shot at a local race, but the congress and the presi-
dency seem to be off limits. The answer is to get more
involved in politics yourself, as a voter, and avoid vot-
ing for candidates just because they are popular but
instead because they have good souls.Someone once said that great men don’t seek great-
ness but have it thrust upon them. I think this is true,
because those who have really changed the world
were not slick politicians but rather people who had
such great leadership skill and charisma that others
forced them into leadership roles. Good examples of
this are Jesus, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Theresa and
George Washington.
After his great victories in the American Revolu-
tionary War against Great Britain, George Washington
wanted to retire to his farm in Virginia and live out
the rest of his days as a humble farmer. He did not
want to become the political leader of a brand new
country. But the Continental Congress looked to him
for leadership, and sought him out to be the first
The following essay received 4 points out of a possible 6, meaning that it demonstrates adequate compe-
tencein that it- develops a point of view on the topic
- demonstrates some critical thinking, but perhaps not consistently
- uses some examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its thesis, but perhaps not adequately
- shows a general organization and focus, but shows occasional lapses in this regard
- demonstrates adequate but occasionally inconsistent facility with language
- contains occasional errors in grammar, usage, and mechanics
The following essay received 2 points out of a possible 6, meaning that it demonstrates some incompe-
tencein that it- has a seriously limited point of view
- demonstrates weak critical thinking
- uses inappropriate or insufficient examples, reasons, and other evidence to support its thesis
- is poorly focused and organized and has serious problems with coherence
- demonstrates frequent problems with language and sentence structure
- contains errors in grammar and usage that seriously obscure the author’s meaning